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Lynnisms
stray thoughts about stray subjects

Bye Bye Blogsource [ edit ]
April 01 2007 (14:05:00) ( 10 views )

Starting today, I will stop posting at blogsource. Just key in lynnisms.in and you will find my blog. In case you don't, use this url - http://lynnisms.blogspot.com

See you there!
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Girl Power [ edit ]
March 31 2007 (09:40:00) ( 7 views )

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the triumvirate of Allie, Tammy and Roxanne from Synergy thrashing the boys (men?) from Gold Rush last night in the Apprentice.

Don't miss the replay this weekend if you want to learn about how simple down-to-earth street smart strategy that truly 'delivers' to customers can outbeat ego-thumping grandstanding events that draw crowds but fail to deliver sales.

Michael was fired. A great pity, I liked him and would have hired him (if I could afford to !) in a snap.
But I can appreciate that his generous-to-a-fault helpful diplomatic nature would not find favour with a dyed-in-the-wool aggressive American capitalist like Trump. (0) Comments | Post Comment
"Walk a mile in my shoes" [ edit ]
March 24 2007 (09:41:00) ( 6 views )

A hugely disappointed and disillusioned India has taken to pelting stones in Pune, burning effigies in Kanpur, and viral texting messages like the one below

"Billy was at school this morning and the teacher asked all the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came out, fireman, policeman, salesman, chippy, captain of industry etc, but Billy was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father."My father is an exotic dancer in a gay club and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes if the offer is really good, he'll go out with a man, rent a cheap hotel room and let them sleep with him."The teacher quickly set the other children some work and took little Billy aside to ask him if that was really true."No" said Billy, "He plays cricket for India but I was just too embarrassed to say."

Does anyone give a thought to what Sachin, Dhoni, Dravid and gang are feeling right now? Sure there's a lot on money and pride on the line but these guys worked hard, and have feelings. Try walking a mile in their shoes, Joy. Be angry, but don't be mean.

Comments

Lynn...please do something about this senseless killing of dogs..
Posted by Mausumi on 03/26/2007 08:40:39 AM

The applause that follows victory is not louder than the silence and deep sense of loss and shame within the players themselves.
Posted by Cherishall on 03/28/2007 07:07:18 AM
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Bemusement [ edit ]
March 23 2007 (07:52:00) ( 6 views )

1. When everyone is talking about global warming, why is Delhi still at 12 and 16 degrees in the afternoons?

2. Everyone says tonight's match is already fixed. And breaking news this morning was about Woolmer being murdered. When did sport get so murky? What does the term 'sportsmanship' mean?

I feel like an Alice in Blunderland.

Comments

1) Someone forgot to tell delhi? 2) Unethical things take place when there's so much at stake. And 'sportsmanship' is soon becoming an obscure term, quite like innocence!
Posted by rashmiblogger on 03/23/2007 09:51:57 AM
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"BRING DOWN THE WALL!" [ edit ]
March 21 2007 (10:25:00) ( 9 views )

(written by invitation for the Goafest organisers, as a jury member, about the blurring of roles between media and creative since this year the festival has combined awards. am not sure where and when it will be published yet)



published in Financial Express on April 4, 2207 with the title Media Creative Consolidation



It is said that an important indication of maturity and
evolution, of an individual or community or society or process, is the ability
to cross boundaries. To break down barriers that exist to protect and preserve
so that newer territories, both physical and ideological, can open up to the
brave and the enlightened, making way for further growth and development.
Boundaries define, and therefore, they limit. Break them and a new world unfolds
itself.

The best expression of this is the internet, of course. And
google. And all things digital.

These have broken down barriers surrounding the single most
important element in all human relationships – communication. Physical,
psychological, geographical and financial barriers have become a thing of the
past today when a 12 year old basketball player in Connecticut can so easily mete out some
serious advice on pet therapy to an ageing financial analyst in Sydney, both
incognito yet very much cognito.

We in media and marketing communication are lucky to be
sitting in the middle of all of this. We can see all the careful paradigms we
built up over the years crumble down before our eyes, and it looks scary yes,
but also full of opportunity. Ten years ago, an advertiser and his agency made
an ad, a newspaper had journalists who gathered news and commented on society,
and consumers bought the papers, read the news, read the ads, bought the
products and used them. Today, advertisers dabble with editorial, tv channels
and radio stations make more ads than advertisers and their agencies, and
consumers have begun to beat both journalists and advertisers at their own
game.

Co-creation and user generated content. These are two terms
that are making media planners, copywriters and journalists spend sleepless
nights. They represent loss of control, a reinvention of roles, a full blown
breakdown of boundaries once spelt out in stone. They also represent freedom of expression,
and more important, freedom of impression. As a consumer, or user of media, I
chose what I want to be impressed by as never before.

Little wonder then that there is a blurring of roles between
media and creative. Media agencies increasingly find themselves suggesting
creative solutions, often content led ones, to both advertisers and media
houses. The term content itself has come to mean anything that is published or
broadcast – not just editorial, but also quasi editorial, informercial,
interstitial, or blatantly promotional. Media planners today get more jollies
out of an ‘innovation’ that they have convinced a media owner to execute,
usually one that flies in the face of conventional editorial policies and
boundaries, than they do from intellectual ROI modeling.

“Everyone is creative”, “Creative is not the prerogative of
the creative department” – these are expressions that have been bandied around
for some time. The truth is that these statements are true!

So where does this leave the original dyed-in-the-wool hot
shot ad agency creative director – among whom are many of my closest friends?
Some of them have forayed into strategic planning, many of them have become
creative directors at media houses having loads more fun in programming and
promotions, some have turned into online communication whizkids. Those that have stayed on in advertising
grow increasingly more defensive by the day. That’s sad.

This is the communication age. Progress, or the lack of it,
is now being determined by the quality of communication present in a society –
its speed, cost, richness, creativity, reach and impact. Anyone who does
creative things for a living should exult. He or she can tap into facilities,
features and media that his predecessors would give an arm and a leg for. Smart
successful creative people therefore appreciate the need to collaborate with
those that provide these facilities and features, rather than complain that
other people are treading into their space, or crossing over into their defined
limits.

Having said that, I seriously don’t expect a creative guy to
want to do a media plan. And yet, I think I would be happy if he did try to.
The best creative directors I have worked with could write up a better media
strategy than I could on any given day, and have done so. They bring to the
table their understanding of how consumers engage with content of any kind,
from books and movies to art exhibitions and soap opera, to create
communication that makes a difference. Balbir Pasha was not made from the IRS
or the NRS. Neither, I daresay, was google.











Comments

Lynn, check out the new adidas ads on my blog...on News from today..
Posted by svety on 03/21/2007 12:09:07 PM

A really nicely written observation of a change which is both intensely liberating and scary ... as I suppose all change is. I cannot even think back to a world where I couldn't communicate instantly, post my thoughts into cyberspace, surf sites and leave comments on content. When it comes down to it, and as you say, creativity has now been liberated to the point where its even harder to make a difference, creatively. Everyone has access to the same tools, can write, edit, post, etc ... so only the truly talented will rise to the surface. Or those why make their work intensely 'sticky'! I just love thinking about the way things have changed, so far and so fast. In so many countless ways ... its such an energising (and exhausting!) world!
Posted by Heather Saville on 03/21/2007 03:11:44 PM

Interesting. Intriguing. Challenging. It is indeed a time of paradigm shifts. As any industry matures it moves from mass production to personalization. I guess, its time for media. The personalization is surely an indicator of the growth of industry but how far will it impact at the grassroot level is anybody's guess.
Posted by Vipul on 03/22/2007 11:19:58 AM
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As good as it gets [ edit ]
March 18 2007 (11:31:00) ( 6 views )

Along with Life is Beautiful, A Beautiful Mind, One flew over the Cuckoo's nest and Fiddler on the Roof, As good as it Gets features among my top five favourite movies. I watched it for the nth time today on Sony Pix. Each time I learn something new and marvel how people inevitably find the right words to say when they most need to.

This time I realised for sure that it was little black muzzled Verdell, and not Carol, who drew out the good side of Melvin Udall. Dogs are like that - no one can be immune to them for ever.

Comments

"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with Spencer, "Spence," and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good, about me." *Sigh*
Posted by rashmiblogger on 03/20/2007 11:20:43 AM
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Nix on necks [ edit ]
March 15 2007 (07:05:00) ( 5 views )

Some days
The only thing holding my head up
Is my mind.

Comments

wow
Posted by svety on 03/16/2007 06:33:21 AM
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Dog debate [ edit ]
March 13 2007 (05:58:00) ( 6 views )

The newspapers and newschannels are full of the stray dog culling debate. My inbox is getting full too, with emails and columns from fellow activists. I choose not to add my voice to the situation this time, enough is being said and done. Or not enough, never enough.

I recall an ad we ran in print and outdoor some years ago, written by Benny Thomas. Perhaps we should resurrect it. It simply said,

"I am not pretty. I have no voice. My owner's not rich. So you must kill me?"

They remind me of the words of Our Lord - "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me." That applies to both good and bad deeds.Why do we forget?

Comments

I say not enough, never enough. Horrible people!!! I'd like to help in any way I can!
Posted by rashmiblogger on 03/13/2007 06:52:03 AM

begin with even just one life, rashmi. get your society to adopt a street dog and take the responsibility of its food and vaccinations.
Posted by lynnisms on 03/13/2007 12:27:16 PM
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On giving up...or not [ edit ]
March 06 2007 (08:12:00) ( 6 views )

I received an award for 'contribution to advertising' two weeks ago at an event in Pune which, among other things, had an excellent fashion show. The highlight of the evening for me wasn't my award though - it was watching my 76 year old nearly blind aunt, who had accompanied me, sashay elegantly up and down the ramp in a fetching tourquoise blue dress that she had stitched herself from fabric sent by her daughter in Hong Kong. The MC had selected her from among the audience to walk for Helpage. She was beautiful. Gray, blue, slim, dignified, blind and beautiful. Much more than Anupama, Tupur and Tapur, Vidisha, and Shoba De all put together.

In his description of me, the said MC began with a statement that quite shocked me. He described me as someone who never gives up, and always bounces back. Wonder where he got all that from. I always think of myself as someone who gives up from the word go. Whenever a crisis is upon me, I just sort of let go to a higher power. I do what I can and I try to do it well and leave the rest to God.

The last two weeks have been eventful, a tough battle, and the worst seems to be behind me. Did we bounce back? Maybe. Did we give up? Yes, we did, to God. Right at the start. There are some things that only God can fix. And only God should. Our bodies are mean fighting machines, only if He is behind the wheel.

Comments

I'm surprised the MC's statement shocked you. I don't know of even one person who would picture you as a quitter or a giver-upper(permit me to innovate with language! Oh you should post a picture of your aunt sashaying! I'd love to see it!!
Posted by rashmiblogger on 03/06/2007 09:44:56 AM

It cannot be said as giving up, if we look up to god to sort out issues once we have explored and exausted all that we can. That hope and trust into him makes us not to give up.
Posted by surbhi on 03/06/2007 09:45:42 AM

Holy enthusiastic, double-posting mouse, Batman! :)
Posted by rashmiblogger on 03/06/2007 09:55:06 AM

You are both right ofcourse. I think what I meant is that a sense of detachment takes over rather than any 'giving up' - detachment is a good thing, it increases productivity and maintains equanimity in difficult situations.....I guess!
Posted by lynnisms on 03/07/2007 05:50:49 AM
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My Valentine [ edit ]
February 13 2007 (10:01:00) ( 7 views )

As I was leaving church last Sunday after mass, a young gentleman handed me a small card from a box of similar ones that he was giving out to everyone. It was a simple white card with a picture of red roses shaped into a heart and a tag line that said "You are God's gift to me".

What a sweet gesture from a total stranger. When I returned home, I went straight to Gemma and showed her the card, reading out the words to her, and meaning every single one of them with all my heart. And sure enough, she replied to me with her always speaking eyes and that horselike nudge of her muzzle, and it was if I could hear her words spoken to me as clearly as any human - "You are God's gift to me, too".

Then I took the card to my fourteen year old Pixie, who giggled and wiggled and squirmed and rolled on her tummy like a puppy - she is such a clown, always manages to turn special moments into a big joke and bring you back to reality.

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I am so blessed to be able to spend it with some very special people indeed. Fate has a way of doing these things. Fifty young men and women who, in the past few weeks, have shown me what it means to be all heart. If I had to choose over and over again who I would want to spend the bulk of Valentine's day with, I would choose these fantastic people. I love you, guys and gals in Delhi, you make me want to be a better person.

Comments

Yo Delhi!!!! And, happy valentines lynn
Posted by svety on 02/14/2007 05:19:23 AM

What about Mumbai? We missed you?
Posted by Surbhi on 02/15/2007 11:46:03 AM

A joy to spend the day with you and thanks for the lovely sweets. It was a very happy valentine for all of us indeed.
Posted by medialogy on 02/16/2007 06:36:13 AM

yes wasn't it! surbhi, no worries, i know it's an exclamation not question mark.
Posted by lynnisms on 02/16/2007 03:21:39 PM

Cheese , chocolates, olives , cherries and pineapple - Thats what this Valentine's day was for me this year. Just like the taste of life - a little sweet and a little sour.
Posted by Vipul on 02/19/2007 05:22:28 AM
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